Escape the Danger Zone
by Muldoon22
Summary: Steve and Natasha crash land after a blizzard brings their plane down. They must now battle the environment and insurging hostiles to stay alive. Previously called "Warmth", renamed as the content has moved into a new direction. An action/adventure with romance.
1. Chapter 1

They dredged through the blinding snow, lost after their plane went down. Aside from being a little shaken, they were both fine. As they walked, Steve noticed a cabin.

"We can hold up there for the night." he said. Natasha looked up and nodded. They made their way to it and got in, Natasha removing the red scarf from her face. Steve immediately went to the fireplace and began building one up. Natasha tried her communications again.

"The blizzard is interfering with the signal. We're gonna be here awhile." she said, as Steve got the fire roaring. She walked over to the toasty warm fire and sat down, rubbing her arms.

"I figured as much. I think we can survive here for the night." he said as he stoked the flames. He sat back to enjoy the warmth.

"You know Steve, I never imagined being stranded out in the middle of no where with you. No offence."

"None taken. Than again, no one exactly takes time to think about getting stranded anywhere."

Natasha nodded and shivered. Steve noticed.

"Are you still cold?"

Natasha didn't want to admit it. But her second shiver confirmed it.

"Come over here. Ill warm you up."

Natasha hesitated for a moment before scooting over to him,. He wrapped his arms around her and her body exploded with warmth.

"Body heat is the best blanket, in my opinion." Steve said. "I can't get cold. But I still don't like it."

"Me neither." she said, discreetly bring his arm around her waist and leaning into him. "It's weird, considering I'm from Russia, but any chance I got, I went somewhere warm. I never take missions to the snowy mountains."

"Then why did you accept this one?"

"Because...because it meant getting to know you better." she said. Steve looked at her with surprise.

"Really?"

"Yes. You're an interesting fellow. I wanted to get to know you personally." she said with sheer honesty.

"Well, that's awfully flattering, ma'am."

"Call me Nat."

"Alright. Nat. Listen, we best get some rest."

"Alright. It appears this is a hunting cabin, so there won't be any beds."

"The floor it is. Here, you can use my jacket." he said, removing his hold on her, but she immediately reinstated it.

"Id prefer to use you as a blanket. Body heat, remember?"

Steve looked a little awkward but nodded. "Alright then."

He held her close to keep her warm as he laid down.

"Goodnight, Steve." she whispered.

"Goodnight, Nat." he replied, with Natasha rolling over to face him. They fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

They awoke the next day finding themselves in a bit of an embrace. Natasha's head rested against his chest, arm slung across his stomach. He opened his eyes and saw this. She did the same and lightly smiled. They both sat up.

"I hope there is at least a bathroom in here." she said, standing up.

"I think it's that thing." Steve said, pointing to a toilet situated behind them near the door. Natasha sighed.

"Don't look, if you do-"

"You'll kill me. You given that threat to Stark and Barton quite a few times."

"No, I wouldn't kill you. I'd just ask you to stop looking." she said, going over to the toilet. Steve turned away, confused.

"Why wouldn't you kill me?"

"I like you too much." she replied. Steve let it drop. She couldn't mean what he thought she meant. He began rifling through his bag and found some rations.

"I have some beans here if you're hungry."

"Starving." she replied. "Damn, doesn't flush."

"Good thing we aren't staying long." Steve said, putting the beans in a pit and placing it over the fire. Natasha sat down next to him.

* * *

The storm was still raging when they began prepping to leave. As Natasha slid on her boots, she noticed Steve remove a roll of black fabric.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Freeze resister. I may not get cold, but my skin still freezes. This blocks the cold and prevents frostbite. Howard made it for us Commandoes."

"Oh, you're gonna hog it all?"

"Not at all. Here, let me wrap you up." He unraveled it and would it around Natasha's arms and legs. She thanked him and pulled on her jacket and hat. She covered her mouth and nose with her scarf as Steve slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Stay close." he said. He opened the door and snow blew in. He didn't move, thinking.

"Maybe you should hold on to me. If I can't barely see in front of me, you won't be able either." Natasha said.

"I have an idea." Steve said, taking off his bag. He removed two clip ons and a strap. He connected one clip to the strap and clicked it onto her belt. He did the same thing with the strap and clipped it on to the back of his own belt.

"Try not to fall." he said, a hint of a joke in his voice. She smiled a bit and followed him outside.

* * *

They walked for a few hours, climbing up a rather large mountain. Then again, they were stranded in the Himalayas. Steve stopped. She felt the strap shrink, so she did too.

"Any signal?" he called, walking back to her. She took off a glove and pulled out the phone. While she checked for signal, Steve put his gloved hands on her bare hand, keeping it warm. She didn't make a physical acknowledgement, but the gesture was well received.

"Damnit. Nothing."

Steve sighed, disappointed. "I'm not sure how much longer we, and especially you, can stay out here. I may have been in ice for 70 years, but-"

"Wait a minute, I have a signal!" she exclaimed. She swiftly dialled a number.

"This is Hill."

"Hill! Romanoff here. We crash landed out here somewhere in the Himalayas. We need evac."

"Affirmative. It could take time, there is a svere storm there projects to last for several days."

Natasha grimaced.

"Attempt to get to a clear location. Hill out."

Natasha put away the phone.

"Our best bet is Sikkim. It's east of here, roughly...a day's walk. So we'll need to get...down there."

She turned to where he was indicating. A massive ledge, with no way of seeing how far down it is. She looked up and a realization hit her.

"Steve."

"Yeah?"

"I just realized which mountain we're on."

Steve turned to her fully. "Which one?"

Natasha swallowed. "The most famous one on Earth. The one that claimed the most lives. Mount Everest."

Steve turned and looked up. They were halfway to the top. They were in trouble.


	3. Chapter 3

The two climbed alongside the ridge of the mountain, the peak of Everest looming over them. Steve adjusted the strap so that Natasha was a lot closer. The storm rapidly escalated and it became hard to see. He wanted to make sure there was no possibility of losing her.

"We have to get down off the mountain!" she called.

"I know, but how? We have no way of repelling down!"

"Hold up for a moment, let me check the bag!"

He complied and stopped. She unzipped the bag and rummaged through.

"Anything?"

She audibly sighed. "All we have is frozen water and a foldable sheet of metal used for rain."

"Damn." he said. Suddenly, the snow decreased and they could see a little bit. The view went on forever, and even though it was quite a sight, it was a bad thing. That meant the way down was long and dangerous.

"We are screwed." she muttered. He heard and couldn't help but agree. Off in the distance, he heard a revving of a vehicle. He turned to look.

"What is it?" she asked. He reached into his pocket and pulled out some binoculars. He saw three snowmobiles coming their way. And there were six men, three with guns.

"Trouble. They're armed and we're not."

"Who are they?"

"I don't know, could be the owners of that cabin, but we need to disappear. Now." Steve looked around and found the metal. He unfolded it and threw it down the ridge. As the snowmobiles came closer, he grabbed Natasha by the waist.

"Are you insane?" Natasha asked panicked.

"No choice. Trust me!" he said, and he threw both of them off the ridge, landing on the metal and sliding down Mount Everest. The enemies followed them down, shooting at them.

"Turn, turn, turn!" she said, as they flew over a tiny bump in the way. One of the snowmobiles flipped over and sent the men flying off. The gun the man had flew and Steve, on his back with Natasha on top, let one arm off her and grabbed it. He handed it to her. "Take them out!"

She complied and fired, killing another driver. The last one shot at them and hit close to them, but she took him out and ended the pursuit.

"Hold on!" Steve called and the slope ended, resulting in them falling on and landing a few feet down on a ledge. They groaned in pain.

"You ok?" Steve asked, helping her to her feet.

"Yeah. But that was crazy, you could have killed us!"

"Better me than them, right?" Steve asked with a sheepish shrug. This caused Natasha to smile a little. She soon dropped it when she saw red on his jacket shoulder. She turned him around and gasped. "You were shot!" she exclaimed.

"I was? Didn't feel anything."

She looked around them and saw they were near a cave. "Let's go in here. We'll make camp for the night and i'll patch this up."

She took his hand and walked him in. She spent 5 minutes getting a fire going before they got their heavy winter gear off. Steve unhooked the strap connecting them and she told him to sit down. She produced a first aid kit and pulled the bullet out of the wound.

"Super soldier or not, you can't just brush off getting shot."

"I know, but I had other things to worry myself over."

"Like what?" she asked, stitching up the hole and wiping away any blood.

"Like dodging those snowmobiles. Keeping the sheet sturdy. More importantly, keeping you safe."

She stopped for a moment as he turned to look at her. They made eye contact before she quickly looked down at the ground.

"You shouldn't do that. You shouldn't put my life over yours. Trust me, I'm not worth it."

"Hey." he said, lifting her chin so they were looking at one another. "You are worth it. You're very important to me."

She was surprised at this as Steve move his hand and lightly lifted her short red curls with the back of his hand as he slid it across her face. They moved closer to one another and kissed. She wove her arms around his back and reciprocated. The fire died down as they laid on their makeshift bed.


	4. Chapter 4

Steve awoke in the cave with his jacket covering him. He looked around and smiled when he saw Natasha curled up in his arms, a cat-like smile on her face. "Morning." he whispered. She rolled her eyes open, smile intact. "This is a great way to wake up, I must say."

"Too bad it wasn't somewhere warmer, like Monte Carlo or Hawaii."

"Oh, Monte Carlo sounds so good right now." she moaned, nuzzling into his hold on her.

Steve smiled at the thought before looking outside. The storm had passed.

"It's all clear outside. Want to try and move?"

Natasha leaned up and looked outside. "I really like my position now, but I suppose we should try to get to a location.

Steve nodded and got up.

* * *

Steve strapped her onto him again and they went outside.

"We did pretty good on that sheet down here, care to try that again? It is our only way down."

She didn't particularly enjoy the ride down, but he had a point.

"Only if you hold onto me." he nodded and unfolded the sheet. Rather than chucking it down and jumping on, he had Natasha sit down and pushed it over, immediately sitting behind her and wrapping his arms around her as it went down. They both steered as it zoomed down. She got a little scared whenever they went over humps in the mountain, but felt safe with Steve there. They finally reached level ground, where another cabin was. Steve had to crash the sheet into a snow mound to slow down. Natasha turned around and buried her face in his chest before they made impact so no snow would hit her face.

"Woo!" Steve exclaimed. "That's something for the books, huh?"

She smiled. They went into the cabin, this one abandoned as well.

"Scavenge for supplies. Food, water, etc." he said, in clipping himself from her. She went to the fridge and found several bottles of water, as well as soda and beer. She took the lot. In the cupboards, beans and soup were present. She took five tins of each. Steve found a pistol in a draw and pocketed it. Some matches were also present, so he took them.

"Try contacting Hill now." he said. She nodded and went into her pocket, before patting herself over, phone no where on her.

"Shit." she said. He turned to her. "What?"

"The phone must have fallen out on one of the rides down."

"Want to go back up?"

"Hell no." she said.

"Well, then we have a long walk out of these hills." he said, looking outside and spotting a shed. He saw the outline of a snowmobile. He looked around and spotted a key rack.

"Maybe not." he said, walking over to the rack and grabbing the keys, dashing outside. She quickly followed.

"What did you find?" she asked as he opened the shed. When she peeked in, she saw him sitting on the snowmobile. She smiled.

"Go grab the backs. And get your gloves on, it's freezing!" he said. She nodded and ran back in. She returned with the bags and strapped them onto the side before climbing on and taking ahold of him. He revved up and drove off, not noticing the flurry of snow flicking upward in the distance.

* * *

They arrived at the point where the sand met the snow. Perfect timing, as the snowmobile ran out of gas. They removed their winter gear and were in their desert attire.

"It's an hour walk to Sikkim. I have an acquaintance there, Pahom. He can get us a patch through to SHIELD.

Steve nodded. "At least we have plenty of fluids."

"Want to get drunk on the way?"

"Can't. Only Thor's mead can get this guy staggering."

"Oh well. Let's move."

They walked through the rather cool desert. They killed time by talking about the events of the prior night, the battle for New York, and oddly enough, movies.

"I really liked that one we all saw a few weeks back, _Man of Steel_."

"I had a feeling you'd be a Superman fan."

"Read a few comics back in the day. Too bad he weren't real, could of came in handy during New York."

She laughed as they entered the village. She led him into a white brick building, where a man sat at a computer. She cleared her throat and he whirled around.

"Natasha!" he said with a thick Indian accent. "It's been awhile."

"Too long, Pahom. We need your radio feed. We crash landed here and we need to get out."

"Of course, it's in here." he said, leading them into the adjoining room. Natasha sat down and toyed with the signal until she got a response.

"Hill? Are you there?"

"Romanoff? Jesus, we thought you and Rogers were dead."

"We got out of the Himalayas and are now in Sikkim. We ned transport."

"I'm afraid we can't. Whatever you two did caused that airspace to get closed off."

The two froze. "Hill, are you saying we can't get out?"

"Not from where you are now."

"Where is the safest extract?" Steve asked, kneeling down beside Natasha.

No answer.

"Hill, where can we get out from?"

"You'd have to sail to Australia." she replied. Steve and Natasha looked at one another.

"Vot der'mo." Natasha muttered in Russian.


	5. Chapter 5

"Australia. She's kidding, right?" Steve asked as Natasha stood up. She looked at Pahom and then back to Steve.

"The airspace was cut off. Any violation of that would cause an international issue. Something SHIELD wouldn't care instigate. So no, she isn't kidding. We're boned."

Steve ran his hand through his hair. "Who the hell is wanting us dead so badly anyway to shut down half the Middle East's airspace?"

Pahom thought. "You say you crash in the Himalayas, no?"

"Yes. Yes we did." Natasha said.

"Did you enter any cabins while there?"

"Two."

"Oh lord." Pahom said.

Natasha looked confused. Pahom turned back to them.

"All cabins in that area belong to Dewon Mi Sun, a Chinese-"

"politician who is also a secret arms dealer." she finished.

"That man has enough power to do something like this. He must believe you've uncovered one of his plots, so now he seeks to eliminate you."

Steve looked at Natasha. "Then we need to get our asses to Australia somehow. Guys like that have armies, and all we have is one gun. There is no way we're taking him on. The best thing to do is regroup with SHIELD and come back with more forces."

Natasha nodded. "I agree. But how in the hell are we getting to Australia?"

"Pahom, get us a map." Steve instructed.

* * *

"Our best best is to go through Bangladesh." Steve said as the three observed the map.

"I have friends who can take you as far as the border. After that, you may have to go on foot. My cousin sells boats in Barisal, so you can get one from him. Ill call him and explain to him the situation."

"If this guy wants us dead, he'll be ordering roadblocks to check cars, so we do have to walk." Natasha said. Steve nodded. He checked his watch.

"It's 8 o'clock now. Let's sleep here tonight and leave bright and early tomorrow."

"Alright."

Pahom pointed to a room to their left. "I can spare you both just that room."

"Thank you." Natasha said, kissing him on the cheek.

* * *

It was 2 in the morning when the sound of panting woke Steve up. He turned over to look at the other bed and saw Natasha shaking around her bed, repeatedly muttering no. She was having a nightmare. He got up and went to her.

"Nat! Nat! Wake up."

Her eyes shot open and she was gasping for breath. Steve took her into his arms.

"It's ok. It's ok, sweetheart, it was only a nightmare."

"Banner...Hulk. He was coming to get me."

"That happened a month ago. He won't hurt you again."

"Will you stay with me for the night? Please?"

"Of course. Lay down and go back to sleep. I've got you." he said. With that reassurance, she laid back down with Steve holding her. They fell asleep.

* * *

Pahom's friend Ramaan arrived in a dune buggy at 6 AM. Though tired, the two agents packed up their things and loaded them into the trunk.

"Take the back paths. Stay in the desert and Malo will meet you in Darjeeling. Stay safe my friends."

"Thank you again, Pahom." Natasha said as Steve buckled himself and her in. Ramaan started the vehicle and they drove away.

It took 2 hours to get to Darjeeling. Malo was there and he then drove them to Changrabandha. Malo stopped right on the border.

"This is where I leave you, friends of Pahom. I bid you safe travel."

Steve and Natasha got out of his jeep and collected their things. Malo raced away, leaving them alone in the hot Bangladesh sun.

"Well, let's get going." Steve said, and he led the way into the desert.


	6. Chapter 6

Steve and Natasha found themselves in a forest not long after leaving India. They werent exactly awkward towards one another, but Steve felt they needed to address soe things.

"This may not be the appropriate time or place to bring this up, but about our kiss in the Himalayas.."

" Well, Steve, I liked it. Whether or not you did is up to you. But you're right, now isn't the time for this." he nodded, a slight blush in his cheeks, a smile on her lips. They spotted a river to their right.

"If my geography is correct, this is the Teesta river. This can take us right down to the Indian Ocean."

"On what, though?"

"Well, Steve, perhaps you should put those muscles to use and build us a raft." she said, teasingly caressing his arm with the back of her hand. "I'll track down stuff to use as twine."

She winked at him as she walked away. He gazed at her. "That woman.." h muttered a d began looking for sturdy logs to use.

* * *

The village was on fire, and many people lay dead. The women and children fled as soldiers shot at them. Pahom dragged his bullet riddled body to the body of Malo. Another soldier entered and aimed his gun at him. Pahom looked into the barrel of it. Dewon Mi Sun entered and looked down at him.

"Where are the Americans?" he demanded.

Pahom's head shook a bit.

"Where?!"

* * *

Steve had removed his shirt and was tying the logs together with the cool wind on his bare skin. Natasha returned with more twine like material and felt her breath hitch. Steve looked up at her. "Once you give me that twine, we can get going."

She snapped back into reality and helped him. She removed her own shirt to reveal a training bra, which she took pleasure in seeing Steve glance at her now and then. Steve picked the finished product up and set it into the river. He and Natasha gathered up their things and hopped on, soon drifting down towards their destination.

"You sure did a great job on this. If it were Clint, we would have sunk."

Steve chuckled. "Nice guy, but doesn't know his way with tools."

She smiled. A pause ensued before she picked the conversation back up.

"Now would probably be a good time to discuss that night."

He swallowed. "I did enjoy kissing you. I did. But was it only in the heat of the moment for you?"

She looked away, slightly embarrassed. "I'm-I'm not sure. It's been a long time since I kissed someone out of affection, I've forgotten the feeling."

"I can understand that."

"And I can tell you like me."

Steve now looked embarrassed. "H-how do you figure that?"

"Well, telling me I was important to you and calling me sweetheart are big indicators."

"You were having a nightmare. I was consoling you."

"So are you denying you like me?"

"Not at all, I- I don't know what I'm saying."

"Try for me."

Steve inhaled. "You remind me of a woman. A woman I knew years ago who was cunning and witty, kind and fierce. You possess these as well. And when I first saw you on the deck of the Helicarrier, I felt feelings I hadn't felt in awhile. So I guess what I'm trying to say is yes, yes I do like you."

"Good. Because I like you as well."

They looked into one another's eyes and Steve leaned into her. She didn't move as he kissed her. Rather, she placed her hands on his face as he ran his hand up her shirt. And in the events that transpired, they had sex right there on that raft.

**Short chapter, yes, but there will be more soon! I swear!**


	7. Request for Co-author

It seems, after a month of thinking and plotting, I cannot seem to find a way to continue both "Escape the Danger Zone" and "Hold Me". Which is why I request for someone to come on board as a co-writer or prompt developer. Just PM me your chapter/idea and ill see what to make of it. I, like you, would like to see these two stories conclude, so I'm hoping to do so.

- Muldoon.


	8. Update

Guys, sorry, for the long delay, but here's the thing.

I accidentally deleted the conclusion.

I was cleaning out my doc manager and I inadvertently deleted the chapter titled "Freedom".

Guys it was almost 4, 000 words long. I just can't remember any of it. I was going to polish it up when this happened.

I earlier requested a co-author or idea, which still stands by the way. I definitely need a conclusion for this story and I'm sure you all want one.

If someone can aid me, that would be spectacular.

Sincerely, Muldoon


End file.
